Automatic wagon-brake



(No Model.) 7 .1 2 SheetsSheet 1.

G. G. CALHOUN. AUTOMATIC WAGON BRAKE.

Patnted June 8, 1897.

(no Model.) I '2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

U. C. CALHOUN.

AUTOMATIC WAGON BRAKE. No. 583,887. Patented June 8, 1897.

\k k l;

a g g n Q i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CASSIUS O. CALHOUN, OF WV INDSOR, MISSOURI.

AUTOMATIC WAGON-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 583,887, dated June 8, 1897.

Application filed July 25, 1896. Serial No. 600,573. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OAssIUs O. CALHOUN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Windsor, in the county of Henry and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Automatic Brake for WVagons, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide improved means whereby the force of gravity tending to advance a wagon on an inclined plane, or the property of momentum, may be applied in conjunction with stored resilience to apply a friction-brake to the wheels of a wagon and impede or stop its progress.

My invention consists in the arrangement and construction of elements whereby the progressof a'wagon on an inclined plane by reason of its gravity, or such progress on a horizontal plane by reason of its momentum, may be impeded or stopped and started at the will of the operator by the application of draft or motive power to the wagon.

My invention consists, further, in the con struction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan of the running-gears of a wagon, showing my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the running-gears of a wagon, two of the wheels being removed, showing my invention applied thereto. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail. view illustrating the manner of connecting the draw-rods. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the doubletree, tongue, hammer-strap, and wrench-pin, showing the manner of applying and connecting the same. i

In the construction and application of the apparatus as shown the numerals 11 designate the rear wheels of a wagon of common construction, which wheels sustain an axle 12 and a bolster 13.

The numerals 14 15 designate front wheels of a wagon of common form, which front wheels sustain an axle 16'and bolster 17 in pivoted relation, as commonly constructed.

The front and rear axles of the wagon are connected by a reach 18, extended through hounds 19 ina common manner. A tongue 20 is connected in a common manner to the front axle, and is arranged in the ordinary way to oscillate relative to the axle and to oscillate the axle relative to the reach and rear axle. A brake-beam 21 is suspended transversely of the reach and beneath said reach and hounds, and extends laterally in opposite directions from the reach to such a distance as will position the ends of said brake-beam immediately in front of the rear wheels of the wagon. The central portion of the brake-beam is connected by a rod 22 and a powerful retractile coil-sprin g 23 to the central portion of the rear axle of the wagon. A block 24 is mounted transversely of and above the hounds 19 and reach 18 at the rear of the beam 21, and bell-crank levers 25 26 are fulcrumed on horizontal pivots to the ends of said block.

One of the arms of each of the bell-crank levers 25 26 extends forwardly approximately horizontally and is connected at its forward end by links 27 to the brake-beam approximately midway between the reach 18 and brake-shoes 28, mounted on the extreme ends of the beam and arranged for engagement wit-h the Wheels 10 11. The remaining arms of the bell-crank levers 25 26 extend downwardly and are connected by rods 29 30 to bell-crank levers 31 32, which latter bellcrank levers are fulorumed on a block 33, mounted transversely of the hounds and reach adjacent to and immediately in front of the rear axle 13.-

Locking-rods 34 35 are provided, the forward ends of which rods are pivotally connected to bolts 36, traversing the end portions of the brake-beam. The rear portions of the locking-rods 34 35 are bifurcated and closed across the rear ends of the arms of the bifurcations, and the loops formed by the bifurcations of the rods 34 35 engage at times over locking-blocks 37 38, rigidly mounted on the upper faces of the end portions of the block 33. Pins 39 are pivoted to and extend downwardly from the arms of the bifurcations ofv the locking-rods 34 35, and are connected across their lower ends by bolts 40, which bolts are pivotally seated in the extremities of the horizontal arms of the bell-crank levers 31 32. Rods 41 42 are hinged at their adjacent ends on a bolt 43, seated in and extending downwardly from a plate 44, fixed to the lower face of the hounds at the juncture of the hounds and reach, and said rods extend outwardly and forwardly from the bolt 43 and are connected at their outer ends flexibly to the forward end portions of the bolts 36, secured to the brake-beam.

A hammer-strap 45 is provided with a slot 46 in its forward upper portion and located on the tongue in such aposition as to receive and retain a doubletree 47. The forward edge of the doubletree 47 is faced with a metal plate 48, and the wrench-pin of common form is seated in a vertical aperture in the tongue 20 and traverses in front of the doubletree and through the hammer-strap. A plate 49 is pivotally connected at its ends by links 50 to the rear portion of the center of the doubletree, and said plate is centrally apertured. Draft-rods 51 52 are flexibly connected to or hooked into the aperture of the plate 49 and extend rearwardly in divergent planes to points of flexible attachment at their rear ends to the lower extremities of the upright arms of the bell-crank levers 25 26.

A plate A is fixed to the upper face of the doubletree 47 and provided with a pin B, traversing the slot 46 in the hammer-strap 45, which pin pivots the doubletree to the hammer-strap.

It is desirable at times to lengthen or shorten the distance between the front and rear axles of the wagon, which is done by adjusting the connections between the reach and hounds. lVhen the connections between the reach and hounds is adjusted, it is necessary to adjust the length of the draft-rods 51 52, and for this purpose I have provided interlocking plates in each draft-rod as follows: The draft-rod is severed at a point in advance of the hounds and one portion thereof is secured to the rear end of a plate 54-, and the other portion is secured to the forward end of a plate 55. Each of the plates 54 55. is provided with a stirrup 50, through which the body portion of the other plate may be inserted, and said plates are transversely apertured to receive a bolt 57 in different positions dependent upon the nearness or farness of the stirrups relative to each other. The central portions of the rods 41 42 are pivotally connected by rods 58 to the rear portions of the plate 54 conjunctively with the rear portions of the draw-rods.

In practical operation of this device when the draft is applied to the doubletrees a portion thereof acts upon the draft-rods 51 52 to move the same forwardly, resulting in an oscillation of the bell-crank levers 25 26, where by the beam 21 is raised and moved slightly forward, and an oscillation of the bell-crank levers 31 32, whereby the rear portions or loops of the locking-rods 34 35 are lifted and released from the locking lugs or blocks 37 38. The draft movement is also applied to the rods 41, which serve as levers to assist in moving the brake-beam forwardly and separating the brake-shoes from the wheels of the wagon. hen the draft force is applied, it acts against the resilience of the spring 23 and stores therein power which is utilized as follows: WVhcn the draft on the doubletrees is relaxed-as, for instance, when the momentum of the vehicle causes a speed greater than that of the motive power the strain on the spring 23 will be relaxed somewhat, permitting said spring to act through the rod 22 to retreat the beam 21 to a degree sufficient to cause the shoes 28 to engage the wheels 10 11 and to such a degree as to permit the loops of the rods 34 35 to engage the lockingblocks 37 3S. WVhen the locking-blocks are engaged by the locking-rods and the shoes are engaged by the wheels, the tendency of the wheels is to move said shoes forwardly and downwardly, and the engagement of the locking-rods with the locking-blocks prevents an extensive forward movement of the shoes by reason of their resistance to the forward movement of the beam, and therefore the momentum of the wheels is utilized to cramp and bind the shoes thereto.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a wagon-brake, a beam suspended below the hounds and reach of a wagon, connections between said beam and the draft mechanism of a wagon whereby the beam is retained out of engagement with the wheels at times, yielding pressure devices connected to said beam and tending to approximate the beam to the wagon-wheels for frictional engagement, locking mechanism to retain the beam in engagement with the wagon-wheels when the draft strain on the wagon is relaxed and lever mechanism for releasing said locking mechanism.

2. In a wagon-brakc a beam having shoes for engagement with the wagon-wheels, a doubletree mounted for limited reciprocation longitudinally of a wagon-tongue, draft connections between said doubletree and the brake-beam, whereby when the draft is applied to the doubletree the shoes are separated from the wheels, yielding pressure devices connected to the beam, whereby when the draft is relaxed the shoes are contacted with the wheels, locking-blocks, locking-rods connecting the beam and locking-blocks at times to retain the shoes in engagement with the wagon-wheels, lever mechanism to disengagethe1ocking-rods from the lockingblocks, connections between said lever mechanism and the draft mechanism, supplemental lever mechanism, connected with the beam and connections between said supplemental mechanism and the draft mechanism.

3. The combination of a locking-block, a beam to be looked, a locking-rod connected to the beam and provided with a loop to engage thc lockingblock and abell-crank lever acting upon the looped end portion of the and a pin connecting the hammer-strap and locking-rod to disengage the same from the plate and extending through the slot in said 10 locking-block. hammer-strap.

4. In a draft mechanism a, hammer-strap 5 longitudinally slotted, adohbletreemounted OASSIUS CALHOUN below the hammer-strap, a tongue support Witnesses: ing both the doubletree and the hammer- MAURICE W. CALHOUN,

strap, 2t plate on the center of the doubletree HENRY T. SYMPSON. 

